Shopper's Bazaar
Shopper's Bazaar was the first attempt at Wheel of Fortune. To make a long story short, Merv didn't like it, the late Lin Bolen (then-Vice President of NBC Daytime) didn't like it, and the test audiences didn't like it. Put simply, it didn't work. Gameplay In its most basic essentials, Bazaar has elements of what became Wheel, except for the following: The Wheel The Wheel was stand-up vertical and motorized, based on similar casino wheels. It stopped with a press of a button, and the contestants would yell "Stop the Wheel!" causing the Wheel to slow down and come to a full stop. This Wheel had no Bankrupts, but two (later four) Lose A Turn wedges. There were also two $0 spaces (meaning that even though you'd keep your turn, you don't score for that consonant), Free Vowel (as opposed to Buy A Vowel which was also there, today you'd only get a free vowel by landing on Free Play), and Your Own Clue (the contestant who landed on it would get a private clue by phone, the first of which was the category). SBZR 02.PNG|The much-too-glittery stand-up Wheel. The intro used a slightly different layout with no "special" spaces and a top value of $450. SB_12.jpg SB 04.PNG|The "Free Vowel" space, a semi-precursor to the "Free Play" space on Wheel. SB 05.PNG|A $0 space. SB 06.PNG|The "Free Spin" space. SB 07.PNG|A "Lose A Turn" space. Turns are technically the only things that could be "lost" on Shopper's Bazaar. SB 08.PNG|The weird "Your Own Clue" space. SB 09.PNG|Calling for help. The Puzzle Board The puzzle board was brown with 45 spaces divided into three rows, with the letters revealed by pull-cards. A fourth row of 15 spaces was used for letters that were called but not in the puzzle, as opposed to having an offscreen Used Letter Board. SBRZ_02.jpg SBZR 05.PNG|60 - count 'em - 60 spaces on this board. SBZR 01.PNG|What's that "T" doing down there? Well, that's where discarded letters go. SB_04.jpg SB 03.PNG|Who is that behind the puzzle board? Scoring Scoring was handled by the Accounting Department, a wall that contained each contestant's three prizes. Each player kept their money from round to round, but prizes could only be won through solving a puzzle. Once the bottom prize on the list was "paid for", that player began working on the next prize. Shopper's Bazaar Accounting Department.png|The confusing "Accounting Department" board. Confusing, even for 1973. SB 02.PNG|A closeup. Dawn has acquired $1,350 so far, so she meets the requirements in order to win the appliances. She only needs $900 and to solve a puzzle in order to win the motorcycles. Bonus Round (Shopper's Special) The winner of the game (the one who had won the most prizes as opposed to accumulating the most money) played this round where she had 30 seconds to call one correct consonant after seeing all the vowels in the puzzle. The solution was the prize she was playing for (in this case, ISLE OF CAPRI), and solving the puzzle won said prize (or, in this case, a trip there). SB_10.jpg SB_11.jpg A better Bonus Round was used briefly in 1975-76 and 1978 (as a Star Bonus), but did not become permanent until December 1981. Other Pictures 1973PilotSlate.png SBZR 03.PNG|It's one of those "living room" sets! 12717504 10208815377850211 7204284793973220969 n.jpg Shopper's_Bazaar_set.jpg SB 01.PNG|Ready to play. Free_Spin_Snack.jpg|Hey! That free spin is not edible! Why are you eating it? Bill_Carruthers.jpg Spiral_Star.jpg Chuck_Shopper's_Bazaar.png Music * Main - "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (instrumental) * Commercial - "Spinning Wheel" (instrumental) Other Versions Wheel of Fortune, the show Shopper's Bazaar eventually became Wheel 2000, the children's spinoff of the eventual series Links [http://www.gameshowgarbage.com/ind128_shoppersbazaar.html Shopper's Bazaar at Game Show Garbage] YouTube Links [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n896dobPzg Long intro to the Shopper's Bazaar pilot] Category:Word Games Category:Puzzle Category:Shopping Category:Consumer Category:Lifestyle Category:Non-Broadcast Pilots Category:NBC shows Category:Network shows Category:Merv Griffin Enterprises Category:Sony Pictures Television